How much to spend and how often?

[Anonymous]

Hi All,

Looking for some advice. I have 5 major cards and a sundry of store cards. I've really stopped using my Discover Card--it's at a zero balance-- and have also stopped using my Cap 1 Card as I pay it down. This leaves me using my JetBlue card for travel and other major purchases (had to buy four new tires for my car recently, for instance, and replace my computer on top of airfare/hotel for summer vacation) and my Chase Card as my weekend card for groceries, gas et al. The only store card I use with any regularity is my Amazon store card. Have been paying down the others to zero balances. Will likely put more spend on NY&Co, Express and Victoria's Secret as I fill out my work wardrobe for the spring and summer. 

So my question is for the cards that I am not actively using because I am either paying them down or they are already at zero balance, how concerned do I need to be about inactivity and reduction in credit limits or cancelation of cards as they go unused. Is there a formula for how much spend I should put on a card and how often to keep the card open and my credit limit going up instead of down? Can I go more then 6 months without using a card and still keep it open and in good standing as far as credit limit? I've put the status of all my cards below. Any and all advice welcome. Thanks.

Revolving Credit:

Jetblue at $3653/$6500(Just put a great deal of travel spend for summer vacation; usually pay about $800 a month when balance is this high)

Amazon Prime/Chase $844/$2500 (This is my weekend card--groceries, gas, eating out et al; I always pay the statement balance)

Cap1at $1581/$6000 (Haven't used the card since January, paying down at least a couple hundred a month, sometimes more)

Discover $0/$3500 (Has been a zero balance for two months; cli of $300 granted last month)

Citibank ~$1700/$3100 (Balance transfer card; paying down $100 a month; 0% interest promotion goes through July 2020; not using the card for anything else)

Store Cards:

Overstock $52.97/$2900 (last spend in Jan; will be paid off at month's end)

Express $64/$1500 (last spend in Jan; granted a cli last month; will be paid off at mont's end)

Amazon Store Card $265/$5000 (use every month for HBO, Showtime, Music subscriptions; plus household odds and ends)

New York & Company $0/$900 (paid off since Jan. last spend Oct. 18; granted a cli last month)

Victoria's Secret $0/$1000 (paid off since Jan; last spend in November; granted a cli last month)

Pottery Barn $0/$1500 (first and only charge in Jan; paid off since February)

[AverageJoesCredit]

No need to force spend. Put a charge on the cards you want to keep long term every 3-4months, even 6 months though im a fan of quarterly to be safe, pay it off and rinse and repeat. What i like to do is take a day and go online shopping lol. Buy something small with a card that i havent been using and as soon as it posts i pay it off.

[Anonymous]

Okay, cool. That helps. Thanks. Off to make my Quarterly spend on Discover. Does this apply when there is a balance on the card? For instance, the Cap 1 card hasn't had a charge since Jan. but it has a balance. 

[Anonymous]

As you pay things down and clear the hurdle of any interest being charged then it's time to think about automating things a bit to keep them active and growing like weeds.

For instance now that Disco is paid off for a couple of months take a small bill like Netflix or something throw it on there and have autopay setup for every month.  Disco like use to grow and it doesn't have to be significant to work.

Cap1 is greedy and needs a ton of spend to grow...so, this would be a good candidate for a charge every 12 months just to keep it alive if you want to keep it.

Citi is a bit hard headed when it comes to CLI's and whether you put a ton on it or just a couple of bucks it doesn't really matter when it comes to the 6 month 2K CLI.  Just put something on every once in awhile to get it to report.... when it's not in use they don't report.

Amazon.... I would shift things over from the store card to the Chase card just to consistently show Chase some love that will potentially add up to a CLI for frequent use since you're PIF either way 

STORE Cards.... don't force yourself to use them now that you have a fistful of decent cards... IF they have a specific perk that's of value then use them but, focus on the prime cards as you continue down the path.  700 marks the milestone in which it's time to switch gears from begging for credit to pruning and maintaining things.  Soon enough you'll be hitting that 750 mark and the golden gates start to open up to higher limits and more options.

Also, make sure you're setting a reminder on your calendar for Disco / Citi / Cap1 to hit the CLI button and make them grow.

[CreditInspired]

Keep in mind that making a payment on a card is also activity. 

[-Wright-]

Out of curiosity, why don't you use the Discover card during the rotating categories to get the 5% cash back? Your daily driver card gets 2%  @ restaurants, gas stations, and drugstores

[SBR249]

I've been putting a $6 monthly subscription on my Capital One with $10K limit for more than a year now and they've not had a problem with that. They did turn down a CLI request due to insufficient usage a couple years ago but I've stopped trying to jack up CLs on cards I don't use anyway. No sense in expending my ability to get credit on things I won't use. 

[Anonymous]

I've been getting so many Capital One offers in the mail and never applied for them, not yet anyway...LOL yeah I think it's best for you to use Discover It, since you may be getting more bang for your buck, I have a system that I use on all my cards interchangeably, for example:

BofA Platinum Plus: Bills

BofA Cash Rewards: Gas

Chase Freedom Unlimited: Shopping

AMEX Everyday Preferred: Supermarkets

AMEX BCE Preferred: Supermarkets

Discover It: Charities

I have autopay on now for Minimum Due only, then I make other payments manually whenever I can, it helps...

[Anonymous]

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@-Wright- wrote:

Out of curiosity, why don't you use the Discover card during the rotating categories to get the 5% cash back? Your daily driver card gets 2%  @ restaurants, gas stations, and drugstores

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I think I've just been enamored in having a zero balance. lol Also, not all the categories apply to me: I'm not a member of a big box store and prefer to use my own Amazon cards on Amazon as the cashback is the same and I use it toward more Amazon stuff, which works better for me. Gas might be one I take advantage of next year, but I only just noticed that gas was lumped in with Uber/Lyft and I don't use either car service. I'd also been so focused on paying it off to get to the zero balance, especially by the year mark, I wasn't totally paying attention to the categories as you can see from having missed the gas category. All good. These cards have so many rewards and cashback, it feels like it would be a full time job keeping track. I focus mainly on the Amazon Chase cashback and my Jetblue travel rewards.  

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

@Obscure-Expert, some follow-up questions for ya in red below!

Cap1 is greedy and needs a ton of spend to grow...so, this would be a good candidate for a charge every 12 months just to keep it alive if you want to keep it. Does just paying it down count? Someone above commented that paying is activity, but I do want to keep this card and hope to grow it to, at least, a 10 cl. 

Citi is a bit hard headed when it comes to CLI's and whether you put a ton on it or just a couple of bucks it doesn't really matter when it comes to the 6 month 2K CLI.  Just put something on every once in awhile to get it to report.... when it's not in use they don't report. Citi is currently in balance transfer at 0% interest until July 2020. I'd been previously advised on this board not to put spend on a card where there is a balance transfer. Are you saying a spend is needed? They do report every month. I do want the card to grow, but figured it wouldn't until after the balance transfer is paid off. 

Also, make sure you're setting a reminder on your calendar for Disco / Citi / Cap1 to hit the CLI button and make them grow. I do this for Disco, but as I understand it Citi and Cap1 are hard pulls, no? I am in the garden. 

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Thanks for this! All so helpful!